proverb · Words worth keeping
As like as chalk and cheese.
As like as chalk and cheese.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Two things may be very different despite being put together in a comparison. Chalk and cheese give the difference a vivid form, encouraging attention to relevant distinctions without deciding that comparison is always useless.
Example
A team comparing two events distinguishes a small workshop from a public festival before deciding which staffing lessons can transfer between them.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
As like as introduces an expectation of resemblance, then chalk and cheese frustrates it. The expression is an ironic way to say that the two subjects differ markedly. In practical discussion, it may challenge a comparison that overlooks different purposes, circumstances or requirements. The saying itself does not identify which distinction matters, so a useful response names it rather than relying on the vivid phrase alone. Different things can still share a feature worth comparing. The point is to make the comparison appropriate to its purpose, not to dismiss an argument or a person without explaining why the apparent similarity is insufficient.
When to use it
Use it when a comparison overlooks important differences between its subjects.
Keep in mind
Name the relevant difference; unlike things may still have a feature that can be compared usefully.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown
- Culture
- English